New Delhi, April 25 Powered by rollicking fifties from Prabhsimran Singh and skipper Shreyas Iyer, Punjab Kings pulled off the highest successful run chase in IPL history to beat Delhi Capitals by six wickets in a high-scoring clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Chasing a gigantic 265, PBKS batters displayed breathtaking audacity, something which has been their trademark in the competition, to hunt down the total with seven balls to spare. The foundation of the record-breaking chase was a ferocious powerplay, where Prabhsimran (76 off 26 balls, nine fours and five sixes) and Priyansh Arya (43 off 17 balls) plundered 116 runs.
Despite a brief middle-order wobble caused by Kuldeep Yadav, captain Shreyas Iyer anchored the finish with a composed, unbeaten 71 off 36 balls, studded with three fours and six sixes. Iyer was well-supported by Shashank Singh (19 not out) as the table-toppers got over the line with clinical ease.
The result meant that KL Rahul’s historic 152 not out - the highest score by an Indian in the IPL - ended in a losing cause. While Rahul’s masterclass had earlier powered DC to 264/2, PBKS relentless aggression proved that no target is safe in the current T20 cricket era.
Arya launched the chase in style by smashing the first ball from Auqib Nabi over mid-wicket for six - his second such feat in the IPL and joined Yashasvi Jaiswal in this rare club. When Nabi pitched it too short, Prabhsimran pulled him for a six, as 15 runs came off the opening over.
After Nabi put down a chance of Prabhsimran at backward point, Arya whipped a full toss for six, while Prabhsimran punished loose deliveries to get a four and six. The chase, however, was momentarily overshadowed by a serious head injury to DC pacer Lungi Ngidi in the third over.
Attempting a difficult backtracking catch after Arya mistimed off Axar Patel, Ngidi landed heavily on his head and had to be stretchered off the field in an ambulance, amid silent and concerned faces in both teams and fans inside the stadium. Once play resumed, PBKS’s aggression reached a fever pitch.
Priyansh hammered Axar for successive sixes, and was followed by him and Prabhsimran taking 27 runs off Nabi in the fourth over, including three sixes hit by the latter. The Powerplay concluded with Mukesh being decimated for six consecutive fours by a rampant Prabhsimran, who reached his fifty in 18 balls, as 24 runs came off it for PBKS to sign off with 116/0.
Some respite came for DC when Arya perished in an attempt to get his sixth catch and holed out to deep midwicket for 43 off 17 balls. Kuldeep Yadav came in to turn the tide for DC - trapping Prabhsimran lbw before castling Cooper Connolly with a googly. Despite the double blows, Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera hit five boundaries between themselves from overs 11-15 to keep the asking rate in check.
Though Wadhera holed out to long-on, Iyer had luck on his side, as Karun Nair dropped him twice in five balls off Nigam and Kuldeep. To add insult to injury, Iyer slogged, smacked and whipped off Kuldeep and T Natarajan to bring up his fifty off 26 balls. He and Shashank Singh then knocked off the remaining runs to maintain PBKS clean slate in the competition.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 264/2 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 152 not out, Nitish Rana 91; Arshdeep Singh 1-49, Xavier Bartlett 1-69) lost to Punjab Kings 265/4 in 18.5 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 76, Shreyas Iyer 71 not out; Kuldeep Yadav 2-46, Vipraj Nigam 1-24) by six wickets
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